Hekkie Budler ticked all the right boxes

Hekkie Budler left very few unanswered questions when he captured the WBC International Silver junior flyweight title at the weekend.

After a lengthy layoff of close to two-and-a-half-years, the popular former multiple world champion, nicknamed “Hexecutioner”, captured the vacant WBC belt with a unanimous points victory over plucky Filipino Jonathan Almacen.

The fight was the headline bout on Uppercut Promotions’ maiden tournament bill at the Booysens Boxing Club in Johannesburg.

What Butler did prove to trainer Colin Nathan was that at the age of 33 he still has the ‘legs’, and certainly the capability, to compete at the top level.

Granted, it did take him a few rounds to settle down and his timing was a touch out in the first four rounds, but once he got into his groove and found his rhythm and range, he started to assert his authority on the fight.

Two of the ringside judges eventually scored the fight 118-111 and the third 117-111, with Budler improving his career stats to 33-4-10.

There was never a doubt that the Filipino came to fight, but ring-wise Budler started piling up the points, stringing together combinations and consistently beating his game opponent to the punch as the fight progressed.

Budler also proved to be defensively sound and managed to steer well clear of the plucky Filipino’s attempted long-range bombs.

The South African, ranked second by the WBC, may have to play a waiting game and trainer Nathan hasn’t ruled out the prospect of another interim fight on course towards another shot at a world title.

Meanwhile, in undercard action on Saturday, junior middleweight Tristan Truter gained a massive confidence boost in his first fight under trainer Nathan’s wing, with a fifth-round technical knockout victory over southpaw Wandile Ndlela.

Truter, off back-to-back defeats, mixed his punches up well and boxed from behind a solid jab, but it was a sustained body assault in the fourth round which eventually took its toll and Ndlela failed to answer the bell for the fifth.

National women’s junior welterweight champion Hedda Wolmarans boosted her record to 6-0 with a second-round technical knockout victory over Raider Muleba.

Aside from some ambitious flurries, Muleba offered little to trouble the supremely conditioned Wolmarans, before being floored by a lightning fast right-left combination.

She did briefly regain her feet to take a standing eight count before Wolmarans delivered the coup de grace with a savage left to the body at the end of the round, leaving referee Pumeza Zinakile no choice but to wave the fight over.

Other results:

Featherweight – Itumeleng Tsholo beat Gerald Titus TKO 3rd

Catchweight 61.9kg – Talent Baloyi beat Eric Mutamba (DRC) on points (4).